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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

E. T. STARR.'

SYSTEM POR UTILIZING TIME SWITGHES FOR ELEGTRIG CIRCUITS.

No. 269,476. Patented De0.19,1882.

WITNESSES LN VEJVZOR l. El A57? f .BU /Z ZIJ Attorney l a] @QM rvAPETERS. Phombummpw. wasmnswn, 0.1:.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets- Sheet 3. E. T. STARR.

SYSTEM FCR UTILIZING TIME SWITCEESEOR ELECTRIC CIRCUITS.

Patented De0.19, 1882.,

IfrfzznAf-ESSE Q gy v UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

ELI T. STARR, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONF- HALF T()TVM. J. PYTON, OF \VASHINGT()N, D. C.

SYSTEM FOR UTILIZING TIME-SWITCHES FOR ELECTRIC CIRCUITS.

I SECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 269,476, datedDecember 19, 1852.

Application filed November 13, 1852.

To all whom it muy concern:

Be it known that I, ELI T. STARR, of the city and county ofPhiladelphia, in the State ot' Pennsylvania, have invented certain newand uset'nl Improvetnentsin Systems for UtiIiZ- ing Time-Switches l'orElectric Circuits, of' which the following is a specification.

My invention relates more particularly to a system ot distributingelectrical energy or powerfrom a generator or generators by meansot'-automatic or time switches, whereby an r lectric current or currentsmay be automatically directed to and eut olii" from apparatus to beacted upon or worked by the current or currents at predetermined tines.

The subject-matter claimed herein is distinctly pointed out at the closeot' the specification, while the objects and some of the capabilitiesot' my invention willalso hereinafter sufciently appear.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my improvements as embodied andorganized in the best way now known to me.

Some ot' my said improvements may be used withoutthe others and in waysdiit'ering i'rom that particularly shown in said drawings.

In said drawings, Figure l -is a diagram showing` an organization ot' myimprovements, there being illustrated two sets ot' apparatus to beworked by the current ot' the main or vcharging line, with theirrespective automatic switches to throw them intoand cut them out ot saidline, or a branch thereof, at predeterapparatus heilig thrown into andcut out of 3 is a detached view of the setting device of the automaticswitch on a still larger scale than that ot' Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is asection through said device and through a portion of the clock-workmechanism on the line 4 4 ot' Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a diagram illustratingthe (No model.)

switch for throwing the apparatus into and cutting it outot' the maincircuit as controlled by electro-magnetic clock-work operated by a clockat a central station, an independentline beingrun from saidlast-mentioned clock, and a suitable generator of electricity at themain or charging station to the clock-work of the switch or switches.Fig. 6 is a diagram somewhat similar to that ot' Fig. l, with theapparatus to be, worked by the current ot' the generator or generatorsarranged in branches ot" the main line; and Fig. 7 is a view showing amodilication ofthe devices depicted in Fig. 3.

A generator or generators ot' electricity', A, (preferably a dynamo ormagneto electric machine or 1nachines,) is shown as organized to throwcurrent upon a main line, B, in which, or in branches thereof', areincluded the apparatus (l to he acted upon or worked by the current ot'said generator. This apparatus t) to be acted upon by the currentis'shown as consisting of a secondary battery or accumulator ot'electricity, which is to be charged from the main-line or chargingcurrent, and then cut out to constitute an independent source ofelectricity, so as to work, when required, electrical appara-tusincluded in the working-cir cuit ot' said battery.

In order to automatically throw said secondary battery or electricaccumulator C into the charging-circuit and automatically cut it out atlinedetermined times, I provide said circuit with a switch,-D, whichwhen in one position directs the current through the battery, while whenin another position it detlects or carries the current around saidbattery, so as to have no effect thereon. The position ot'said switch I)is determined by clock-work mechanism E, which may be setor adjusted tothrow the battery into the charging-circuit at the time desired and eutit out ot' said circuit after submitting'it to the charging operationfor a req uisite time. Said switch l) preferably consists of aconducting lever pivoted to a suitable support at one end-tor instance,upon the clock face or trame-by an insulated pivotal connection, e, thesaid pivoted end ot' the leverbeingelectrically connected with thecharging-line, so as to constitute the switch a part of thecharging-circuit. Said lever-'switch ICO extends, in the presentexample, across the face of the controlling clock-work E thereof, andits weight causes it t0 restY lightly upon the periphery of the setting.device F of said clock-work, which device, by determining the positionof said switch around the pivot, determines whether the current shall beconducted through or directed around the battery, the range of movementof the switchlever being limited by contact pieces or pointsV g g',forming part of the circuit-connections. Said cont-.ict pieces or pointsg g' may be mounted, as shown in Fig. 2, upon an upright support, G, thesaid contact-pieces being independently insulated.

The setting device F preferably consists ofa main wheel or disk,f,having, say, one half of its periphery of less diameterthan the other,as shown (partially by dotted lines) in Figs. 3 and 7, and of anotherwheel, j", of similar construction, fitted to turn around a hub,f2, ofsaid main wheelf, said last-mentioned wheehj'. being mounted byfriction, for instance, upon the tubular spindle or arbor H of thehourhand H of the clock-work mechanism, so as to tu'rn therewith whileadjustable thereon, when necessary, as shown in Fig. 4. A semicircularslot,f3, is formedin the wheelf, concentric with its axis, and aset-screw, h, working` through this slot into the tnain wheelfenablesthe two wheels of the setting device F to be adjusted circumferentiallyrelatively to each other and tixed together. as desired. When the twowheels or disksff are adjusted so as to have their largest diameters orportions opposed it will be obvious that a wheel is presented theperiphery of which is of substantially the same diameter throughout,while if adjusted so as to have the parts of largest diameter cross oroverlap-each other a recess or depression, (t, in the periphery of thesetting device is formed, as shown, for instance,in Fig. 3 and the otherfigures of the drawings. This interruption in the continuity of theperiphery of largest diameter of the setting device F, or, in otherwords, the extent of the recess c, may be varied as desired, the limitin the example shown heilig to one-half of the periphery of the device,which maximum limitation, it will be readily understood, is equal to sixhours, inasmuch as the setting device rotates with the hour-hand oftheclock-work, as before stated.

I have stated that the weight of the switchlever D causes it to restlightly upon the periphery ofthe setting` device. The lever is supported upon the setting device by an institory, which is thusconsequently cut out. \Vhen, however, by the lapse of time and by therotationof the setting device bythe clockwork mechanism, thepredetermined space or` depression t in the largest diameter ot' saidsetting device arrives opposite the tooth d of the lever D, said toothwill drop quickly down into said recess, and will cause thc lever tobreak contact with the contact-pointy and make contact with thecontact-point g', whereby the charging-current will be directed throughthe battery C to charge it, and the said battery will be continued inthe chargingcircuit until, by the rotation of the setting device withthe clock-work, the shoulder fl of said device comes against theinclined face otA the tooth l and gradually wedges or l'orcesit outward,thus separating the lever from the contact-point g and again makingcontact with the contact-point g. The battery will thus be cut out ofthe charging-circuit, and will constitute an independent source ot'electricity to work, when desired, electrical apparatus-such as lampsand motors, for examplewhich are included in the workingcircuit C' ofthe battery.

The length of time the battery or other apparatus C reina-ins in thecharging-cn'cuit or subject to the action of the main current willofcourse be determined hy the extent of the recess or depression a. ofthe setting device,

and this may be varied by adjustment, as before described, while theperiod at which said apparatus is put into the circuit to be acted uponmay be determined by adjusting said setting device by its frictional orequivalent connection around the spindle or shaft of the clock-workmechanism which carries it.

In order that the make and break or change of the circuit in throwing inand cutting out the apparatus G may be practically simultaneous, or themake effected with one contactpointjust beiore the break with the other,so as to avoid sparks, which would occur on breaking from one contactbefore making with another, I construct the contact pieces or points g'0' in the form of plungers surrounded by light or weak springs, asshown in Fig. 2. The plungers have a range of movement endwise in theirguides or boxes sufficient to enable them to follow the lever-switch inits movements fora limited distance.` Said lever in its inovementthnsmakes contact with the opposite contact-point just before breakingcontact with the point with which it has been in contact, and from whichit is to be separated. 'lhe current is thus shifted from onecontact-point to the other without an actual break of the circuit. 'lheweight ofthe lever, after the lever has been shifted from thecontact-point g to the contact-pointy', depresscs said point g', andthereby carries the lever away from said point g to direct the currentwholly through the point g', while when said lever in moving upwardunder the action of the setting device F has made contact with the IOOILD

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point g its contact with g is then broken by the continued upwardmovement due tothe continuation of the wedging or lil'ting action ofsaid setting device and the yielding orendwise movelnent ot' saidcontact-pointy.

In order to lessen friction between the tooth l ofthe lever D and thesetting device It", said tooth may be provided with a friction roller,as shown in Fig. 7.

The working circuit or circuits C of the battery C are pro\ided with aswitch or switches, c, by which to make and break said circuit orcircuits, as desired.

1t will be noticed that I have shown the clocl; work mechanism E andswitch I) as mounted on the battery-vessel; but ot' course this is notnecessary, though in some cases it is preferable. l have not shown thegearing and other internal connections of the clock-work, as that isunnecessary. Any suitable form ot' clock work in common use may beemployed to rotate the hands andthe setting device, and are preferablysuch as are capable of ruiming for a long time-say a week or more---whcnonce wound up.

In Fig. 1 I have shown the main circuit as organized for charging twosecondary batteries-the one at the right ofthe ligure to be chargedbetween the hours of siX and seven oclocl; and the one at the lel't handto be charged between the hours of seven and eight ocloclt or, in otherwords, when the tirst battery is charged and cnt out, the next batteryis thrown in to be charged in turn. In practice, in electric lightingin'cities, for example, there will be a large number or series ofseparate batteries having independentworking-circuits U in one district(into a number ot' which dis- 'tricts the city will be divided) to becharged simultaneously at one hour or other lengthof time, another largenumber or sexies in another district to be charged during the next houror length of time desired, and so on, whereby it will readily beunderstood that l may utilize a comparatively small generator or smallnumber ot' generators to charge a vast number of secondary batteries,inasmuch as but a comparatively small number ot' the batteries will becharged at one time, the operation of cutting out and throwing in thebatteries in succession or order being accomplished automatically, asbefore fully described. Each house to be lighted will preferably beprovided with a secondary battery or set ot' batteries provided with anindependent working circuit, while the charging-circuit or its branch ateach house will be provided with a cut-out switch, l, whereby any one ormore ot' the batteries and the apparatus worked by it may be cut out ot'the main-lineor chargingcircuit, when desired, for an indetinite periodwithout cutting out or affecting the others. The dotted lilies in Fie'.

-l show the cutout switch ot' one of the batteries in the position tocut out its respective battery.

It one or more ofthe batteries or sets of batteries in any district orseries is of greater capacity or requires longer time to be fullycharged than the others, the setting device or devices will of course beadjusted to keep said battery or batteries in the charging-circuitforthe time required, it being understood that each battery or set ot'batteries of each series or district is independent ot -the others inthe same series or district, and may be charged tor a greater or lesstime.

I have particularly described secondary batteries as the apparatus to beaffected by the current ot the mainline; butit will be obvious that indistributing electrical energyas a source of power the apparatus C may,for instance, be electric lnotors to be automatically thrown into andcut out ot' the main circuit or its branches at txed times. For example,the motors may be thrown into the main circuit during the usualworking-hours ot' the mechanic during the day and then cutout, while thecurrent otn the generator may be utilized to run other aptmratus duringthe remaining hours ot' the daylight and during the succeeding night. Insome instances, as tor electric lighting with secondary batteries, itwill bc desirab'e to throw the batteries or apparatus C into the tnainor charging circuit but once only during the twenty-four hours ot' theday, instead ot' once during every twelve hours, so that the batteries,tor instance,-may be charged during the daylight, and then cnt out toconstitute sources tor running electric lamps at night. ln theseinstances l. prefer that the clock-face be gaduated to show twenty-tourhours instead ot' twelve, as is usual, with the hands and thesettingdevieeotthe switch organized correspondently, so as to make butone revolution in twenty-tour hours. The change is so obvious and may beaccomplished in so many different ways as to need no illustration.

Instead ot' employingcloclt-worlt to be wound up by hand to control theswitch or switches l), l may, and `preferably in some instances do,employ an electro-magnetic clock or clocks to control said switches.Said clocli or clocks are included in au independent circuit, J, andtheir movements aie governed by a clock, K, and battery or generator' L,also included in said circuit and located, t'or instance, at the centralor charging station. Such an organization is shown in Fig. 5, and it isadvantageous, in that it avoids the necessity ot' separately winding upeach of the clocks in each district, for example, which clocks, may bevery numerous and some ot' them widely separated.

By the electroanagnetic'cloclt system l have described all theswitch-controlling clocks in oneor more districts may berun andcontrolled in their movements from a central station. The clock-circuitJ is provided with a switch, j, by which said circuit may be made andbroken. Running or controlling one or a series ot' separateelectro-magnetic clocks from a distant point or central station is verycommon, and may be accomplished in many ways.

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l therefore do not show the details ofconstruction of such clock-worknor describe them, as such description would extend this spcciticationto an unnecessary length.

In order to at't'ord aready means of utilizing the current ot' thegenerator or generators A, either while it is employed to work theapparatus C or after said apparatus shall have been cnt out-as, forinstance, at night, when the apparatus is a secondary battery orbatteries and they have been cut out-I include in the main circuit, orin a branch or branches thereot', an armature lever or levers, M, theupper or outer ends ot which, when the said levers are in their normalposition, rest against contaetepoints 1, thereby directing the currentalong the main line without affecting the apparatus N, which may beelectric lamps, for

instance, for street-lighting purposes. The said armature-levers aremaintained in their said normal position in 4contact with thecontact-points l by means ot' the springsm. their the current otl themain line is to be directed to the said lamps N-at night, for instanee,.

when the batteries, having been charged during daylight, are cut out-theelectro-inagnets O, included in an independentcircuit, I, are excited byclosing said circuit by means, for example, of the switch Q, (leadingfrom a suitable battery or conducting ot't' a portion ot' the current ofthe generator A,) whereby the arniature-switches will be attracted bythe magnets and will be caused to make contact with the contact-points2. The current of the main line will thus obviously be directed throughthe lamps N, and said lamps will continue to be supplied with current aslong as the independent circuit I remains closed. As soon as saidcircuit is broken the magnets will be no longer excited,thearmature-switches will be released, and said switches will be thrownbari; to make contact with the Contact points l, thus cutting the lampsN out ot the main circuit.

lhe organization ofthe lamps N to be run directly by the charging ormain current and thrown into and out ct' action from a central orcharging station is shown in Figs. l and 6. Ihe advantages ot' such anorganization are obvious. At eacli apparatus N the circuit is providedwith a cut-out switch, a, whereby any one of the said apparatuses may becut out when desired without affecting the flow of lcurrent. along theline.

In Fig. o I have shown both the apparatus l and the apparatus N asarranged in branch circuits. is so clearly shown as to need nodescription. By opening the switch b2 the circuit through the branchesis broken. lt is to be understood, however, that other organizations ofThe method ot' running thefeircuits branches and switches may beemployed without departure from my invention.

Before reciting what I claim herein, it is proper to say that thisapplication is restricted to the three combinations hereinafter setforth. This present application is a division ot' my application tiledJune 15,18S2,No.6et.244,and I wish it to be distinctly understood that Ircserve the right to claim in my said application of June 15, 1882, orin suoli other applications as I may elec-tto tile, all the patentablesubject matter herein shown or described or snbstan tially indicated,save that specilicaily recited in the three following clauses of claim.

I claim herein- 1. 'Ihe combination ot'a switch forming part ot' anelectric circuit, an apparatus to be acted upon by the electric current,and automatic mechanism acting by direct mechanical action upon saidswitch so as to direct the current through orarouiid said apparatus, (incontradi.` tinction to acting through an electric circuit,) saidautomatic mechanism being provided with anadjustablesettingdevice,substantially as described, and with anadjustable connection between said dcviee and the shat't. ot saidautomat1c mechanism which carries it,thecom bination being and acting`substantially as described, whereby the apparatus to be acted upon bythe, current is automaticallyinserted in and withdrawn trom the circuitby direct:- actiug mechanism, while the period at which said apparatusis put into the circuit to be acted upon, as well as the time theapparatus remains subject to the action ot' the current, may be varied.

2. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, ot' aswitch forming part ot' an electric circuit, an electric clock tocontrol said switcli,a clock to controlsaid switcli-coiitrolling clock,and an independent circuit including said clocks and a generator ot'electricity.

3. rIlie combination, substantially as hereinbet'ore set iorth, ot'- agenerator ot' electricity, a circuit to conductthe current ot' saidgenerator, a series of independent electrical apparatuses to be workedby said current, a series ot switches to control the admission ot' saidapparatuses to said circuit, a series ot' electric clocks to controlsaid switches, a clock at a central station to control saidswitch-controt ling clocks, and an independent circuit including saidclocks and a source ot' electricity.

In testimony whereot' I have hereunto subscribed my name this 9th dayot' November, A. D. 1852.

hill T. STARR. Witnesses WMJJ. PuY'roN, E. EUGENE STARR.

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